In the early days of the Cultural Revolution, there were frequent incidents of armed fighting in many parts of China. As part of this, a series of conflicts took place in Chongqing, from June 1967 to October 1968. This fighting resulted in serious casualties, and is now called the Violent Struggle in Chongqing.

In 1966, in accordance with instructions from the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee and the Southwest Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee, several conservative organizations were established in the local area, and were supported by the 54th Army Garrison in Chongqing. Another group of rebels originated from Chongqing University; after taking action against a workers' group on August 15, the "8/15 Fighting Group" was established. Initially, the rebel faction was denounced as counter-revolutionaries by the Party Committee and the workers' groups. By November, however, its momentum was growing; the 8/15 Fighting Group joined with many rebel groups to form a larger 8/15 faction. After the central government expressed its support for this leftist rebellion, the 54th Army also gave their support to the 8/15 faction.

In January 1967, with the support of the 54th Army, the 8/15 faction announced that it would seize all Party powers and government organizations in Chongqing; the faction formed the Chongqing Proletarian Revolutionary Rebel Alliance Committee (or "Revolutionary Alliance"). The factions opposing the Revolutionary Committee were suppressed in February and March, and large numbers of people were detained and struggled against (subjected to severe criticism). After being successively released, they regrouped. Because their position was intent on destroying the Revolutionary Committee, they were called the "Destroying Faction". In July, they changed names from "Destroyer" to "Opposition Unto the End". The two sides then started a full-scale civil war that lasted for months.

By the end of July 1968, the violent struggles had begun to calm down. On October 15, Chongqing held the "Vow-Taking Meeting Between the Two Major Factions of Revolutionary Mass Organizations to Abolish Their Headquarters and Set Off a New Upsurge in Struggle, Criticism, and Reform". The two factions were announced as abolished; the civil war finally subsided.

In the aftermath, according to the "Great Record of Chongqing Public Security (1949-1997)", there were 22 large-scale armed battles in the city; 1,737 people were caught and killed. Other sources have estimated that there were more than 3,000 directly-involved deaths, with more than 10,000 people injured. In an article for the "New York Times", Scholar Hong Zhenkuai has written that "the violence in Chongqing was horrific, with more than 20,000 people dying". In addition to this, economic losses in terms of property, machinery, and equipment destroyed by violence, as well as traffic interruptions and factory shutdowns, are uncountable.

References: "The World Turned Upside Down: A History of the Chinese Cultural Revolution"; "The History of the People's Republic of China: Smashing the Old World - The Turmoil and Catastrophe of the Cultural Revolution（1966-1968)"; [紐約時報中文網 ("New York Times Chinese Edition")(Chinese)] (https://cn.nytimes.com/opinion/20160513/cc13cultrev/)